Saliou Guindo

Saliou Guindo (born 12 September 1996) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Maccabi Petah Tikva and the Mali national team.

Club career
Guindo began his professional club career at Jeanne d'Arc FC in 2014 and played until 2015. He later signed with ASEC Mimosas in the Ligue 1 (Ivory Coast).

In 2015, he moved to Tunisian side Espérance Sportive de Tunis. He has also appeared in four CAF Confederation Cup matches with Espérance. Guindo later played for Kategoria Superiore side KF Skënderbeu Korçë from 2018 to 2019.

In the 2017–18 season, he featured for Al-Ahli Manama in the Bahrain top flight and Albanian club KF Skënderbeu then came calling in the season that followed. Between 2018 and 2020, the striker featured for them and later FK Byllis Ballsh in the Albanian first division, before he was signed by the Turkish tier two club Ankara Keciörengücü.

Domestically he has also played in another Kategoria Superiore side FK Byllis Ballsh. In the 2019–20 Kategoria Superiore, he emerged as the top scorer with 11 goals and 3 assists for FK Byllis Ballsh. It was Guindo's best performance so far.

In 2020, he went to Turkey and signed a three-year contract with TFF First League outfit Ankara Keçiörengücü but has not appeared in league games.

On 21 November 2020, it was announced that I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala have completed the signing of Saliou Guindo. "Saliou Guindo has signed for Gokulam Kerala on a season-long deal", a source close to the developments informed Khel Now. Guindo and the Malabarians have mutually agreed terms on a season-long deal until the end of the 2020–21 season. On 1 January 2021, Guindo has also appeared in the squad of Gokulam Kerala B, which competes in the Kerala Premier League.

Guindo joined Albanian club KF Laçi in the summer of 2021.

Guindo signed a two-year contract with Dibba Al Fujairah on 14 August 2022.

Guindo joined Maccabi Petah Tikva on 9 July 2023. On 30 May 2024, he won his first title with the club, Israel State Cup, after beating Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1–0 in the final.

International career
Born in a town named Ségou, Guindo represented his country at the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2015, where they secured the 3rd position.

Guindo was eyeing to win the tournament for making Mali proud around the world. In his words, "It's our dream to win this competition." Guindo added : "Our country would be known around the world. Many countries don't know about us and many people sometimes ask us, 'what's Mali?'"

He has also represented his nation in 2015 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, where they finished 4th. Guindo was the man behind his country's qualification in the tournament.

Guindo was called up in the squad of Mali national team in 2020 but he is still searching his debut match for the senior team. He debuted with Mali in a 1–0 2022 World Cup qualification loss to Tunisia on 25 March 2022.

Honours
Espérance Tunis
 * Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2016–17, 2017–18

KF Bylis
 * Kategoria e Parë: 2018–19

Gokulam Kerala
 * Kerala Premier League: 2021–21

Maccabi Petah Tikva
 * Israel State Cup: 2023–24

Mali U20
 * FIFA U-20 World Cup third place: 2015
 * African U-20 Championship fourth place: 2015

Individual
 * Kerala Premier League top scorer: 2020–21 (with 8 goals)
 * Kategoria Superiore top scorer: 2021–22 (with 19 goals)